The biggest reputation climber was Vodafone. The mobile phone operator took fourth position after doubling its full-year dividend and launching a £4bn share buy-back programme.

Another climber was William Hill, which came second after securing the buy-out of Stanley Leisure - the £504m deal makes it the UK's biggest bookmaker.

Oil company Regal Petroleum entered the chart for the first time in the second-worst position. The FSA was reported to be examining movements in the company's share price ahead of Regal's announcement that its main Greek oil well had been deemed 'non-commercial'.

Asda held onto third after a Daily Mirror survey found it offered the best value for money, while BT jumped into fifth following reports of a joint venture with Motorola to launch a handset that enables internet calls. Marks & Spencer came third from bottom in anticipation of poor results.

Reputation Monitor is compiled from Thomson Intermedia's National News Index, a measure of media sentiment that excludes stock market reports and passing mentions.